It is pleasing you are continuing with the discussion about oil & gas exploration on the East Coast. Let me pose another question. Where will the water required to frack come from? The oil & gas study is sketchy in this detail to say the least, and it will be very interesting to see what the consent from Horizons has to say about this issue. We know from overseas that 600,000 to 2,400,000 litres of water is required each time a well is fracked. If you are using scenario 4 in the study as the most likely case then this means the industry will need to find between 48,000,000 and 192,000,000 litres of water per annum. It’s not as if we’ve got water to spare here in the Hawkes Bay so where is it going to come from? The study suggests options include rivers, lakes or the sea, from ground water, or trucked in. We all know that our natural water supplies are over allocated already, so the only option would be to truck the water in. If my math serves me right this is between 3,200 and 10,800 truck and trailer loads – all travelling over our rural roads funded by rate payers and government subsides. Now TAG is not going to be a significant rate payer, and the government has slashed the roading subsidy so who is going to have to pay for the additional roading maintenance? Us ratepayers. One of the many costs not covered in the $130,000 oil and gas development study.